On the second and fourth Sundays of each month, Pastor Ronnie B. Tucker could usually be found at J.L. King Park in blue jeans and a shirt, standing among other ministers and neighborhood families.
For about five years, those afternoons became known as Gospel in the Park, a community worship event that brought ministers outside church walls and into conversation with residents. The event was one of Tucker’s proudest achievements during his years of service in Starkville.
“We would go through (the park) … to let the young men see the unity,” Willie Thomas, long-time friend of Tucker, told The Dispatch on Friday. “They would come out and they’d ask questions. We would stop and minister to them and give them encouraging words. … It was just like coming to church.”
Tucker, 72, passed away Feb 2. Originally from Arkansas, he moved to Starkville in 1998 with his wife, Lenore Tucker, and their two children. Since 2019, he has served as pastor of Mt. Peiler Missionary Baptist Church and as a chaplain for the Starkville Police Department. Tucker was also a lifelong NAACP member, serving as vice president of the Oktibbeha County branch in 2022 before becoming president in January 2025.
Friends and colleagues say one of Tucker’s greatest efforts was pouring into the youth, particularly young Black men.
Jerry Jefferson, president of the local NAACP branch, said Tucker often talked about welcoming young men from his church into his home, cooking for them and offering his mentorship, aiming to push young people beyond the violence around them.
“That’s the thing he wanted the young Black men, young Black women as well, to know, that you can live so much higher than what you are when you’re dealing with gun violence,” Jefferson said. “… That there’s a better life for them. … He helped turn a lot of young people’s lives around.”
Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, a longtime member of Mt. Peiler, said Tucker is one of many local leaders young people can look up to as a “front line soldier” for the Black community.
“Dr. Tucker … has exerted very extensive work with black history because he took action, not only in the church but in the community, to advance the cause for the life and the betterment of Black people,” he said.
‘We have a long ways to go’
As Black History Month continues, Tucker’s colleagues say honoring Black history and heritage as Tucker did, includes continuing the work of strengthening the next generation.
“We also are leaders in our community, in the Black community,” Jefferson said. “We are also fathers and grandfathers and grandmothers, and we care about what happens to our young people, and so, of course, we will continue that legacy.”
Part of that work, Jefferson said, is education.
“We as the Black people, we need to know our heritage,” he said. “… We need to know we can’t possibly know where we’re going if we don’t know where we come from. And that goes back to teaching the … young Black people who’re out in these streets … lost … because they don’t have a clue about who they are.”
Perkins said engaging young people in Black history is critical to continue advancing as a community.
“We … have to continue to educate, to focus, to reflect and … get our young people involved,” Perkins said. “ … Back in the 60s, there was resentment, and still is about Blacks being killed by non Blacks. But now you have all this Black-on-Black crime. They’re going to have to put these guns down and become educated about … Black history, about the dream and about the dreamers that have the vision. We have come a long ways. We have a long ways to go.”
Jefferson said continuing to uplift the community is how he and others will honor Tucker’s legacy.
“That is where our mind is and where our focus is, on how do we raise up a community?” Jefferson said. “How do we get people to put the guns down and open up their minds to do great things, to go on and be great men and women one day? But it’s going to take a turning first. … I would love to see, and even if I don’t live to see it, that we as a people have come up another level. That’s what’s so important, is to make sure that we are always rising as a people.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
